Washington ? President Bush said Friday he would take the smallpox vaccine along with U.S. military forces, but he was not recommending the risky inoculation for most Americans.

Vaccinations for a few dozen military personnel began Friday, and by late January states are expected to begin inoculating health care response teams and others who would respond to a smallpox attack.

The government will make the vaccine available to the general public beginning in late spring or early summer, more quickly than health advisers preferred, though Bush emphasized that it is not recommended for most people. He said his family and staff – including Vice President Dick Cheney and the Cabinet – would not be vaccinated.

With war in Iraq a growing possibility, Bush said the vaccine would be mandated for about a half-million U.S. troops in “high-risk parts of the world.” Bush noted that the disease was eradicated in 1980, but said, “In the aftermath of September the 11th, we are evaluating old threats in a new light.”

The shot carries rare but serious side effects. One or two out of every 1 million vaccinated will be killed by the vaccine, and 15 will face life-threatening complications.

“As commander in chief, I do not believe I can ask others to accept this risk unless I am willing to do the same,” Bush said. “Therefore, I will receive the vaccine along with our military.”

It was unclear how troops would respond to this directive. Some in the military balked at mandatory anthrax vaccinations, which are considerably safer than smallpox vaccinations.

President Bush, standing with Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, announces his smallpox vaccination plan Thursday in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington.

About 20,000 people working in U.S. embassies in the Middle East also will be offered the vaccine, the State Department said.

Civilian vaccinations will begin with about 450,000 people most likely to encounter a highly contagious smallpox patient. That includes people who work in hospital emergency rooms and those on special smallpox response teams. States have already identified these people and are preparing to set up clinics. Once these programs begin, it’s expected to take about 30 days to vaccinate this group.

Next up will be emergency responders, such as police officers, firefighters and other health care workers. The government is recommending the vaccine for an estimated 10 million in this group, and health officials predicted Friday that about half would say yes. It was unclear when these shots would begin or how long it would take to vaccinate this group.

Bush resolved a heated debate within the administration about how quickly to offer the vaccine to the general public – a point that was still being debated late this week.

Top health advisers preferred to wait until the vaccine, just recently manufactured, is licensed by the Food and Drug Administration before offering it to people who face no particular threat. That’s not likely until early 2004.